Effective July 1, Tammy McHale will have the “interim” tag lifted from her current role as principal of Haddonfield Memorial High School.
At its most recent meeting, the board of education approved McHale as full-fledged principal for the 2019-20 academic year, with a 3 percent salary increase from the current school year. McHale had taken the interim position in place of Chuck Klaus, who currently serves as assistant superintendent for the school district.
“Having worked with Tammy for the last two years, she’s an outstanding candidate. She’s smart, she works well with others, builds strong student connections, and I couldn’t be happier to welcome her as principal. She’s going to do a great job,” Klaus said.
Fred Buglione, from the New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education, attended the meeting and commended the Haddonfield School District – HMHS director of special education Gino Priolo in particular – for its commitment to inclusivity regarding students with disabilities.
According to Buglione, 97 percent of special-education students in the high school graduate in four years, with the state average being 80 percent. Buglione said he was in the unusual position of lavishing praise, rather than admonishing, a particular school district for its performance in that regard.
Buglione concluded his remarks by revealing that a production crew will visit various locales in the school district for a two-day stretch in the near future to shoot a video intended as a guide for other New Jersey schools.
In other news:
- Superintendent Larry Mussoline did not attend the meeting, due to an out-of-area conference.
- HMHS sophomore Olivia Stoner and senior Lucia Herdelin were commended for their respective performances on the Level III 2019 National German Exam. Both students finished in the 95th percentile or above on the test, subsequently winning an all-expenses-paid trip to Germany to live with a host family, after classes have commenced in June.
- HMHS student Ethan Spelleyer was commended for winning a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship, while HMHS student Pierre Yan was recognized for finishing in first place for Medicine & Health at the Coriell Institute Science Fair in late March.